“Leave out those comical things”

Abstract

According to J.S. Bach’s son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, his father avoided mentioning certain episodes associated with his Arnstadt years (August 1703–July 1707). Honoring his father’s memory, Emanuel took care that the first monograph on the great composer, written by Johann Nikolaus Forkel, would present his life and work, yet omitting certain details that might have been perceived as uncomplimentary. The present article focuses on events before and after Bach’s famous walk to Lübeck, roughly from November 1705 to February 1706, and their unforeseen relation to the life of his Arnstadt cousin, Barbara Catharina Bach (1680–1709), not to be confused with his other cousin, Katharina Barbara Bach (1679–1737, also known as Barbara Catharina) from Gehren, the sister of Bach’s first wife Maria Barbara. One notion, that appears in known documents, but so far has escaped Bach scholars, points to a possible connection between her tragic fate and Bach’s travel to Lübeck, which turned Arnstadt’s community to show hostility toward Bach and marred his Arnstadt years memories, which he was unwilling to revive later.